Chapter 426 The Spy's Mission
The night was as cool as water, and the moonlight shone down from behind the clouds, illuminating the quiet streets.
At the gate of Jinfu Inn, the prefect and others listened in amazement to Lihuatang Jinyi's narration, with different expressions on their faces.
The scholar and Hongye breathed a sigh of relief silently, their lips curled up into a smile: This was consistent with their impression of Zhao Shaobao.
His methods are strange, his mind is meticulous, and his strength needs no explanation.
Prefect Luan Cheng looked dazed, his mind blank.
Zixiao Palace was destroyed? !
In just two or three hours? Lu Zhengchun was arrested? This Taoist temple, renowned throughout the Binhaidao underworld, was simply wiped out by that man?!
"Please wait, I..."
The prefect raised his hand and made a fake grab, but the man in brocade clothes ignored him, turned his horse around and left again.
"Sir, please wait for Zhao Shaobao to come back and ask him in person." The scholar smiled.
Luan Cheng nodded silently, but did not move. He stood at the door and waited. After a while, the torches in the distance gradually approached.
A large group of cavalrymen could be seen walking in front, pulling out ropes, the ends of which were tied to the hands of Taoist priests who were dressed in tattered clothes and whose shoes were almost worn out by trampling.
Like walking the dog.
Further back, there were carts carrying corpses and large boxes - Zixiao Palace had been accumulating wealth for many years, and the wealth within the Taoist temple was considerable.
Zhao Duan only took the most valuable part and brought it back to the city, and left a small team of officers and soldiers to guard the Taoist temple and continue to watch over it.
Further behind, there were carriages one after another. Behind the shaking curtains were beautiful women, crying and shivering like pear blossoms in the rain.
The core members of Zhao Duan and his team were at the back of the team.
"Prefect Luan, it's a good thing you're here," Zhao Duan rode his horse to the door of the inn in the light of the torch, jumped down, and said:
"These Taoists participated in the attack on the government troops. How to deal with them is up to you, the prefect.
As for the boxes on the cart at the back, some of them contained property seized from the rebels, as well as the account books of Zixiao Palace, which had to be sealed.
Once this matter is settled, the stolen goods must be sent to the capital for storage. As for those women at the back...
According to my investigation, these are the girls who were coerced and bribed by Lu Zhengchun and abducted into the palace for his pleasure in recent years. I will also hand them over to you for investigation. If they have nothing to do with the rebels, send them back to their hometowns or keep them in Zixiao Palace and let them choose for themselves.
Well, that Taoist temple was given by the late emperor. There's no need to abolish it to get rid of Lu Zhengchun. It can be renovated. I think it would be great to turn it into an official Taoist temple run by the imperial court."
Luan Cheng listened in a daze, nodded subconsciously, but his eyes searched among the large group of officers and soldiers:
"That Lu Zhengchun..."
"Bang!"
With a sealing talisman stuck on his forehead, the unconscious Lu Zhengchun was thrown to the ground by Gongshu Tianyuan.
Luan Cheng took a deep breath and finally confirmed that he was not dreaming. He quickly asked for details, and after understanding what happened, his expression became extremely complicated.
"Young Master Zhao... good tactics."
This voice, however, was sincere and heartfelt.
No matter how crude and reckless this method may seem, just tell me whether the result is good or not...
"I will arrange it right away." After being astonished, Luan Cheng's expression revealed excitement. As a prefect of a place, he was undoubtedly unhappy with the power of Zixiao Palace. Now that it has been eliminated, he is naturally happy.
"Wait, there's one more thing," Zhao Duan suddenly stopped him and smiled at the latter's blank gaze.
"I would like to ask Magistrate Luan to use your identity to post an official notice in the city, listing the crimes of Zixiao Palace, such as accusations of money laundering, abducting women, and colluding with the rebels. In seven days, Lu Zhengchun and his disciples will be beheaded in public.
Well, remember, you must spread this news as widely as possible so that everyone knows about it."
Magistrate Luan was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously wanted to say:
Officials were not qualified to carry out executions or beheadings without notification from the court.
Zhao Duan seemed to see through his thoughts. He put the gold medal given to him by the empress when he left the capital into the prefect's hand, patted his shoulder, and said with a smile:
"Just follow your orders."
On the way, he tried to pry open Lu Zhengchun's mouth and obtain information about Zhuang Xiaocheng, but failed.
Even Gongshu Tianyuan's "fox fairy" could not deal with the high-ranking purple-robed Taoist priest in the world.
"Lu Zhengchun, ah Lu Zhengchun, if you don't speak up, do you think I can't use you to lure out that old dog Zhuang Xiaocheng?"
Zhao Duan stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the starry night sky:
"Zhuang Xiaocheng, it's impolite not to reciprocate. You gave me a gift, so how could I be so stingy as not to give you a gift in return?"
…
…
Forbidden City Villa.
In the pavilion built on the cliff, Zhuang Xiaocheng, a man of noble character, was sitting cross-legged on the ground, wrapped in a thick blanket, cooking wine.
Lanterns were hung at the four corners of the pavilion, and in the distance the entire villa was dotted with lights.
A peaceful atmosphere.
"Gurgle."
Zhuang Xiaocheng gripped a pair of tongs, stirred the scarlet charcoal in the copper basin, looked at the boiling yellow wine, and said:
"Zhao Duan has entered the city, and the prefect Luan Cheng foolishly ran into him. Our people in Fengcheng sent us news that he had sent troops into the city during the day and then left again. He seemed to be heading towards the Zixiao Palace."
In the pavilion, sitting opposite the Grand Tutor was a figure wearing a loose black robe with a hood covering his face.
A well-proportioned, pampered, fair hand emerged from the black robe. It picked up the wine vessel, poured out a bowl of wine, took a sip, and said in a hoarse voice:
"Lu Zhengchun was exposed?"
Zhuang Xiaocheng shook his head and said:
"If he's exposed, why would Zhao Duan wait until he enters the city to take action? He's probably just trying to trick him. But given Lu Zhengchun's character, he's bound to fight him. With the depth of Zixiao Palace, it's more than enough to test how many cards Zhao Duan has up his sleeve..."
However, the Zhao thief must have had some ulterior motive to dare come here. I'm afraid Lu Zhengchun will be defeated... Wouldn't that be a pity? This old Taoist has profound cultivation and if he can use his flying sword at full power, I'm afraid no one in the society can be his opponent..."
The black-robed man said calmly as he felt the night breeze:
"A vacillating, greedy dog, no matter how sharp its fangs, is not worth using. Now it's a good opportunity to get rid of it through Zhao Duan."
Zhuang Xiaocheng, with white hair and beard and wrinkles all over his face, nodded, sighed silently, and said:
"It's a pity that this time, in order to kill that thief Zhao, regardless of success or failure, the society will suffer a great loss of strength."
The man in black robe drank the wine from the bowl and said:
"What have we got to lose to win? Here come the others."
After saying this, the man's body slowly disappeared like ripples, and the wine bowl in his hand disappeared as well.
After a while.
Two figures came running towards them, one of them was Qi Yuchun, who had a dark stubble and a big gun on his back.
One is Ren Kun, a geomancer with broad shoulders, khaki skin, a square face and a flat nose, wearing a robe of the same color.
The two of them looked unhappy and said hurriedly:
"We've received news that the Zixiao Palace was razed to the ground by a guy named Zhao, and Lu Zhengchun was captured alive!"
Zhuang Xiaocheng was shocked. He stood up suddenly and stared at them: "Tell me in detail!"
After learning the details, the former Grand Tutor frowned and said with regret:
"If Lu Zhengchun escaped in time, how could the court keep him?"
Qi Yuchun said anxiously:
"Lu Zhengchun wasn't entirely on the same page with us. I don't care if he lives or dies, but if he's arrested, I'm afraid our position at the headquarters will be exposed!"
Zhuang Xiaocheng shook his head and said calmly:
"He won't tell. Because Lu Zhengchun knows that if he tells the location of the headquarters, he will die. If he doesn't tell, there is still a chance of being rescued."
Ren Kun watched coldly and said, "Even if it's as you said, now that we've lost his fighting power, what are we going to do next?"
"Wait." Zhuang Xiaocheng stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the two of them calmly, his eyes as deep as the sea:
"Destroying the Zixiao Palace is the Zhao thief's return gift to us. I have a feeling that with the way he's acting, he'll have a back-up plan by tomorrow at the latest. We'll counter his moves and meet them head-on."
…
…
Jinfu Inn.
It was late at night, and Lieutenant General Yuanji led a group of cavalry to the camp arranged by the Fengcheng County Government to rest.
The inn returned to silence. After the door closed, the kitchen brought out the dinner that had been heated several times. Everyone sat around in the lobby and began to wolf it down.
The candle burns quietly.
After eating and drinking to their heart's content, Gongshu Tianyuan stroked his round belly, leaned back in his chair, and threw toothpicks to everyone like a magic trick.
He picked his teeth with a stick while bragging to Hongye and the scholar about his heroic performance in the battle:
"...So, how clever is this priest? I had already created a humanoid substitute, which allowed me to dodge the flying sword... And it was because I was holding Lu Zhengchun back head-on that Junior Sister Jin was able to sneak up on him from behind."
Jin Jian was full and squinted his eyes comfortably like a kitten, too lazy to compete for credit.
Ah, yes, yes, yes… You are a disciple of the Heavenly Master, everything you said is right… Zhang Han and Haitang complained silently.
However, the two also admitted that the two sorcerers from the Tianshi Mansion did make great contributions in this battle.
Jin Jian's final kill was amazing, but without Gongshu Tianyuan, Lang Shiba and Ji Yue's direct restraint, it would have been difficult to defeat Lu Zhengchun.
As a result, the two Zhaoya Jisi who had not played any role at all felt frustrated and realized the real gap between them and the genius of cultivation.
"what's on your mind?"
Haitang looked at Zhao Duan, who was silently picking his teeth beside her, and suddenly asked.
Zhao Duan came back to his senses, smiled, and suddenly asked Gongshu Tianyuan curiously:
"Come to think of it, your stand-in is also a talisman?"
"Yes," Gongshu Tianyuan thought to himself that Brother Zhao really appreciated me, and he quickly took out a ball of white mud from his sleeve as if he were a close friend, and said excitedly:
"This is called Spring Mud. I can shape it into anything I want. It's almost real, but it's just a toy. I need to control it within a certain range."
Zhao Duan rubbed his chin, and after listening to his explanation, he stared at the lump of spring mud thoughtfully.
Haitang was perceptive and asked:
"Now that we've had enough, isn't it time for you to tell us about your next plan? This Lu Zhengchun won't budge, and you're planning on having him beheaded and publicly displayed. You've even given Magistrate Luan seven days to post notices throughout the city. Is this for Zhuang Xiaocheng to see?"
The female detective who calls herself the Imperial Court Detective analyzed:
"Just like you did before, promoting the prisoner exchange widely and forcing Zhuang Xiaocheng to accept it... Do you have similar ideas this time?
Since Lu Zhengchun is a member of the Kuangfu Society, as long as a large-scale propaganda is carried out to let the members of the Kuangfu Society in Fengcheng and even the entire prefecture know that hundreds of their companions are about to be beheaded, they will inevitably become restless.
Zhuang Xiaocheng had to face the pressure of public opinion. Even if it was to appease his subordinates and maintain the cohesion of the Kuangfu Society, he could not sit idly by...
So, you want to use this trick to force Zhuang Xiaocheng to send people to rob the execution ground? And then arrest him?"
This was the answer she deduced.
Zhao Duan smiled and nodded:
"clever!"
Haitang's mouth corners suddenly curled up, she was very proud, but she didn't notice the hint of teasing in Zhao Duan's eyes.
Zhao Duan looked around at everyone at the table and said calmly:
"The Maritime Police Department is right. As long as the news of the execution spreads, Zhuang Xiaocheng must take action.
Furthermore, Lu Zhengchun was holding on to his secrets, likely using the intelligence he possessed to pressure Zhuang Xiaocheng into rescuing him… Zhuang Xiaocheng would have taken action even for this reason.”
Everyone's faces suddenly became clear, and they looked sideways, thinking that you are really so insidious...
Zhao Duan ignored these people's thoughts and continued:
"But just fishing isn't enough. Zhuang Xiaocheng won't just charge in headfirst. Even if he wants to rob an execution ground, he'll have some tactical arrangements. We might seem to have the home advantage, but the Kuangfu Society has been hiding in Fengcheng for years. This is their home turf."
After a pause, he said, "So, it's time for our spies planted within the Kuangfu Society to be deployed."
The Golden Shadow Guard Scholar and Hongye straightened their backs:
"What do you want us to do, my Lord?"
Zhao Duan said calmly:
"I need you to contact each spy individually through the channels and give them a plan of action. I'll go back to the room later and write the contents for you."
"Yes." The two shadow guards agreed readily.
"That's it, everyone is tired, go back and rest first."
Zhao Duan patted his butt, stood up, walked up the wooden stairs and returned to his room.
…
After closing the door, he sat at the table in the inn, but did not rush to write the task. Instead, he turned his wrist and took out the small bronze mirror "Mirror of Love and Lust".
Lost in thought.
According to intelligence, for safety reasons, the old dog Zhuang Xiaocheng still holds the rescued captives, including Yunxi, in solitary confinement in a grape farm in Fengcheng.
This is also the reason why Zhao Duan had not tried to use the Fengyue Treasure Mirror to detect spies and determine the location of the Kuangfu Society’s headquarters before - it was not in the same place at all.
"Zhuang Xiaocheng, Zhuang Xiaocheng... You must know that I have spies among the prisoners. If I were you, not only would I not rashly eliminate those spies, I would even try to turn them against me, playing a spy within a spy..."
"Just imagine, if I completely trust these spies, and some of them are pretending to be loyal to the court but are actually loyal to you, wouldn't that be bad news?"
Zhao Duan muttered to himself, put the small mirror aside, picked up a pen and spread out paper, and began to write down the tasks assigned to a group of spies including Yunxi, Qingniao, Wu Ling and others.
Most of these missions are fake to prevent the existence of "Mission Impossible".
Even if someone really betrayed him and played Infernal Affairs, it would not be a problem to leak these fake missions to Zhuang Xiaocheng. Instead, he could use these fake missions to mislead Zhuang Xiaocheng.
Moreover, he would use the Fengyue Treasure Mirror to observe those spies from time to time over the next seven days.
Of course, there are also a few tasks that are more special.
"Swish..." Zhao Duan quickly wrote a few lines on a piece of paper, then folded the paper and solemnly wrote the recipient's name on the blank space on the back:
Yunxi.
——
Typos should be corrected first and then replaced
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
